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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
hardiness and curiosity led him th ith er. Those who are weak COMMENT FROM should beware of ex- MANY SOURCES posing them selves in K. L. B rooks places and company where they are lia ble to fall.— Meyer. Let us no t cast ourselves down from th e mountainside unless absolutely sure th a t God bids us to do so. He will no t otherw ise give His angels charge to keep us.— Devo. Com. If we tru ly love Him, we will follow Him in all kinds of w eather, b u t it is no t always wise to ven tu re into severe te sts unless duty is clear, when God will enable.— Echoes.. v. 17. Then sa ith th e dam sel. Ob serve how slight was th e attac k th a t b rough t down Peter. It was b u t a silly maid th a t challenged him and she only asked him carelessly, “A rt thou no t one of th is m an’s disciples?” , probably sus pecting it by his sheepish look.—Henry. Comparing th e sto ry h ere w ith corre sponding places in Mk. 14 and Lk. 22, it is to be kept in m ind th a t an excited crowd had gathered and th a t P eter was questioned in two places— w ith th e serv an ts (Mk. 26 :58 ) w here th e first charge was made (v. 69) and in th e porch, where a g reat number of people were gathered, and where th e second and th ird charges were made by another dam sel and by th e crowd.— Gray. A rt ■not th o u ? Or literally, “ surely thou a r t n o t.” P e te r’s denial is thu s, as it were p u t into h is mouth. The form of th e question anticipates a negative answer.— Plummer. H is dem eanor and tim idity, which m ust have vividly show ed themselves, as it so generally hap pens, led to th e recognition of him .— O lshausen. A tem p tation is ju st a C h ristian ’s chance to fly his colors for Christ. This was P e te r’s chance to fly th e colors.— Phillips. Thou also. Her “ also" shows th a t th e dam sel knew John to be a disciple.-—Expos, of H. S. H e sa ith I am not. P eter probably though t he m igh t be b rough t bound
w ith his M aster before the high p riest and had he been so, he probably would have stood faith fu l. B u t the devil who was sifting him had a much finer sieve th a n th a t to ru n him th rough . Ha b rough t him to no form al tria l where he could gird him self for a special ef fo rt b u t to an unobserved, casual questioning by a slave girl. The whole tria l was over before he knew he was being tried.- 1 —Dods. F requ en tly we learn by very painful experience th a t o u r best qualities are tain ted and th a t actu al disaster has entered our life from th e very q u arte r least expected.— Sel. We, in our wisdom, would judge it best to • draw the cu rtain of silence over such an event as this. Not so th e Holy Ghost. He has seen fit to tell us plain ly of th e sins and failu res of Abraham , Moses, David, P ete r and P au l in order th a t we may learn holy lessons of hu man fra ilty and divine grace. We learn th a t we cannot tru s t ourselves fo r a single moment. If no t kept by grace, th e re is no depth of sin into which we are n o t capable of falling.—McIntosh. You need no t stick up your nose a t P eter. When you see a jellyfish on the seashore, dont prod it w ith a stick, but shake hands w ith it. You’re another. — McNeil. Any coward can praise Christ b u t it tak es a hero to follow Him.— Sel. No one ever backslid on his knees. — Sel. v. 18. P e te r stood w ith them . I t is b etter to abscond th a n to be counted w ith th e devil’s crowd.— Brooks. Once in, th e serp en t’s coil is drawn closer. I t is a cold n igh t and why should he not ta k e advantage of th e fire as well as th e o thers? Besides, in th e ta lk of the crowd, he may pick up something which he would like to hear.— Jam ieson. W hat company for an apostle of Christ. It is terrib ly dangerous for Christians to stand w ith th e enem ies of Christ. The fact of his doing so shows th a t decline has se t in.— C. H. M. The n earer you live to the world, th e less power you
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